


The Zombie Apocalypse

by Amber_and_Ash



Series: Variants on the Theme of Dead Air [3]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Crack, Episode: s08e05 Dead Air, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-18
Updated: 2014-05-18
Packaged: 2018-01-25 15:36:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1653725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amber_and_Ash/pseuds/Amber_and_Ash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Crack. If Ziva and Tim had been listening, they would have had some warning of the zombie apocalypse. Maybe it was a blessing that they weren't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Zombie Apocalypse

Gibbs came back from his shift guarding the perimeters of the Navy Yard to join Abby in her office. He had been recalled to duty - the full lock down had caught them without a full complement of marines and they needed every person who could fire a rifle - but he spent his off time with his fellow NCIS agents. Life had settled into a new routine, but this break would be a special one: Abby had worked out how to listen to the transmissions his team had been transmitting when the outbreak hit the city. They weren't supposed to be wasting power, but Gibbs didn't think that finding out whether his agents were still out there fighting was a waste of anything. Damn it, if they'd been anywhere but on those particular outskirts ... no, there wasn't any point in complaining about luck. Not now.

“I think I've found it,” said Abby, not raising her voice above a whisper.

Tony's voice came through the little speaker on Abby's phone, and Gibbs' throat tightened.

“ _Oh my god, zombie neighbours! And I don't mean that as an insult. Proper make-up and costumes and everything. I wonder if they're filming something in the area? Whoa, that was a pretty realistic attack there. They must be practising for some—”_

Tony's voice fell silent and Abby and Gibbs could hear screams in the background.

_“You know what? I think we can finish this tomorrow. I'm just going to back up and... Shit! Get off her. That's—”_

This time the screaming was in Tony's own voice.

“Switch it off. It won't tell us anything more.”

“Gibbs? You know how they're reporting that some zombies will carry on trying to do the last thing they were doing when they were still alive? Tony was— I... If...”

Gibbs nodded sharply. If Tony was heading towards the car, they might be able to find out what happened to the others as well. They listened as the sounds of attacks continued. Abby whimpered as they heard the tell-tale guttural calls of a zombie in Tony’s distinctive voice. Gibbs pulled her into his side, and covered her outer ear with his hand.

After five minutes, Gibbs could hear the click of a door opening.

_“Tony?”_

McGee. Gibbs let go of Abby, although he’d have preferred if she hadn’t listen to any of this recording. “It’s okay. He’ll be careful.”

_“You’re back early. Are you okay?”_

A shuffling, and the click of the other door, and then Ziva’s voice. _“Very amusing, Tony._ ‘Morning of the Living Dead’ _, yes? But Gibbs is going to kill you for dirtying about on an active case.”_

 _“Tony, this isn’t funny any more. Look—“_ A gurgling scream from McGee.

 _“What are you doing? Stop. You are not yourself. Do not come any closer.”_ A gunshot, a brief silence, a sharp exhale.

Gibbs counted off the thirty seconds in his head. Ziva and McGee’s voices joined Tony’s chorus. They were all gone. Gibbs hit random buttons on the phone until Abby took it away from him and switched off the sound. Her shoulders shook, but her eyes were dry. Too many people were gone for the survivors to be able to mourn and keep sane.

“Why were they so surprised?” asked Abby once her breathing returned to normal. “They couldn’t have thought was a prank with all the screaming.”

“No one was prepared to handle something like this,” said Gibbs. He had expected his team to be better than that, somehow, but it was stupid to be disappointed. He should be glad that they had all gone easily, really. The three of them making it all the way to within meters of the Navy Yard only to be overwhelmed or shot by the defenders would have been much worse to live with.

He stood up and pulled her to her feet. “Come on. We need to get some sleep.”

On the big whiteboard set up in the bullpen, Gibbs moved the three agents’ names from ‘Unknown’ to ‘Confirmed Zombified’. No one asked how he knew. Then he turned and walked away. He had living family to protect, and they’d need his full attention.


End file.
